


Down the Oubliette

by papercuts



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-07-14 07:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7158944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papercuts/pseuds/papercuts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An ongoing collection of drabbles in response to community prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fool

“I don’t understand.”

Mocking laughter trilled around her. She felt oddly weightless as she was twirled in a circuit, eyes catching on shimmering gauze and the flicker of candlelight. Somewhere, she could hear the hiss of a snake.

“I didn’t –” Her voice caught as the arm encircling her waist tightened, and she found herself pulled into another turn. “It was an _apple_.

“Was it?” He smiled lazily, and something in her twisted at the sight of it. She shuddered. “This is one of your mortal customs, is it not?” A soft laugh and whispered in her ear, “April Fools, Sarah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Fool, 100 word limit


	2. A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

Opening the door, she hissed, “Do you have any idea how late it is?”  
  
She watched crossly as he slipped into her apartment, his dark cloak trailing behind him.  
  
“I have reordered time – remember that?” She closed the door, slid the deadbolt into place. “I have reordered time, you said. Reordered _time._ You couldn’t have… ”  
  
She was facing his back, and when he angled his head to look at her –  
  
Sarah recoiled in fright, only half registering the pain when she met with the door. Through clenched teeth, she managed: “Who are you?”  
  
The creature wearing Jareth’s face smiled. He turned to her fully, and her stomach roiled at the sight of him. Skin stretched taut over bone, pale eyes peering out at her from behind a waxy surface.  
  
_Through the peephole,_ she thought, _I hadn’t noticed. The hallway was dark, and his head had been bowed._  
  
“Ms. Williams,” he said, the voice sounding wrong, somehow, coming out of that face. He took a step forward, and one of her hands inched towards the doorknob. His eyes followed the movement, and when he smiled this time, the skin around his mouth cracked.  
  
_“Sarah._ It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing, 200 word limit


	3. Proposal

“And you are certain this is what you want?” His voice was sly, considering. “Once set in motion, I intend to follow through. I will not be swayed by any sudden” – he grimaced – “change of heart.”

“I’m certain.” A soft cry sounded from the room over, and Linda winced. “I’ve heard the stories.” Her eyes met his in the dark. “What’s said is said.”

The Goblin King’s smile was as bright as a star. Distantly, she could hear the familiar slap of Robert’s slippers against the floorboards.

“Well then, let’s discuss terms, hmm? Infant daughters don’t get rid of themselves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Proposal, 100 word limit


	4. Belief

“Don’t misunderstand. Seeing you concerned is far from unwelcome, Sarah.”

“You really expect me to believe – wait, you think I’m con –” her mind snagged on the word – “about _you?!”_ she shrieked.

His lips twitched. “Aren’t you?” He shifted, and her eyes flicked traitorously to where the sheets fell, exposing more ashen skin. “Coming all this way, storming into my private quarters…”

“Oh God,” she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I know this is hard for you to grasp, Goblin King, but I don’t care about your well-being.”

“Then why,” he swept out a hand, and she was drawn again to the sickly pallor, “are you here?”

Longer than Sarah would have liked, eventually she said: “Curiosity. Hoggle said… he told me you were bedridden.” She eyed him critically, taking in the limp hair, the washed out colors. “I didn’t think you could get sick.”

“I can’t. Not the way you do.”

He patted the space beside him, smirking when she sat stiffly near the edge of the bed.

“Did you know most of my kind feed on humans in some way? Not always blood, or flesh, but energy… belief…”

“And that means… what? Are you saying you’re just –” she knit her brows, trying to wrap her head around it – “hungry?”

He bared his teeth, suddenly much closer than he had been the second before. “Something like that.”

Sarah stumbled to her feet, immediately furious with herself for getting rattled and the laughter she could hear behind her.

“So – not dying, then.” She shot him a scornful look over her shoulder. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Soon enough, yes.” He stretched back his arms, caught her eye, and winked. “There’s no shortage of believers in your world to draw power from, Sarah. All it takes are the right words.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: But then, maybe "I don’t believe in you" is the cruelest way to kill a monster, 300 word limit


End file.
